Starter for gas-engines.



F. BARMSTRNG. STARTER FOR GAS ENGINES. APPLICATION FILED MAY 10, 1909. t

Patented Jan. 11,` 1910.

.A ,am l n1 4 wn-Nessls FRANK ARMSTRONG, or vUncAN, iwroHrGAN.

STARTER FOR GAS-ENGINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J an. 11, 1910.

Application filed May 10, 1909. Serial No. 494,970.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK H. ARMSTRONG', a citizen of the United States,residing at Vulcan, in the county of Dickinson and State of Michigan,have invented-certain new and useful Improvements in Starters for Grasof apparatus of this character; the provision.

of an apparatus adapted'to supply a plurality of engine cylinders withuniform charges; the provision of an apparatus which `nay 'be cheaplyapplied to the ordinary gas engine; and the provision of an apparatuswherein a very elfective atomization o f the particles of liquid fuel issecured com ned with a thorough and proportionately' correct mixture or'the fuel and'air. One ernbodiment of the invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, wherein Figure l is a longitudinal sectionthrough the device on the line I-I of Figure Figure 2 is a longitudinalsection through the device on the line II-II of Figure 3, and

Figure 3 is an elevation ofthe right hand end of the cylinder of Figuresl and 2.

Briefly stated the device comprises in the form illustrated, a cylinder,a delivery pas sage leading from theside of the cylinder to an enginecylinder which is to be charged,

a manually4 operable piston in the cylinder vprovided with alongitudinally extending passage-way having a part'thereof adaptedduring the stroke of the piston to register with the delivery passage, afuel nozzle in alinement with the passage-way,and means for forcing astream of fuel through` the nozzle as lthe piston moves forward. In thepresent instance the last `mentioned Ymeans is a separate piston andcylinder, butthe invention comprehends other means as well. A checkvalve is provided in the front portion of the cylinder, so that on theforward movement of the piston the air compressed in front .thereof isforced through the passage-way together with the stream of liquid fuel,thus securing the necessary explosive mixture.

Referring to the general arrangement of parts as shown in Figures l and2, the principal parts may be enumerated vas follows;

diameter of the 1 is the cylinder, which is conveniently lo-lcated'withr'- respect to the engine cylinders (not shown); 2 the pistonfonthe cylinder, which is m e substantially hollow in order to lighten`th device; Sis an 'auxiliary cylinder (Fig. 2), in the present instanceintegral with the cylinder 1; 4 is a pistou for the cylinder 3; 5 isthefuel supply pipe by means of which fuel is conducted to the cylinder 8;6 is a passage'for conducting the fuel from the cylinder 3 to thepassage 8 in the piston 2;'7 is the nozzle of the connection 6, bymeanstf'which'a fine stream of fuel is injected into the passage-way 8in the piston 2; 9,10, 11 and'12 are delivery pipes leading from thecylinder 1 to the four engine cylinders, which delivery pipes areprovided with the valves 13; and 14 isy an operating rod connected tothe handles of the valves as illustrated in Figure 1, whereby they'maybe simultaneously operated.

The piston 2 is` provided at its rear end with a' rod 1'5, and this rodis secured'tothe piston 4 by means of the connecting bar 16 1n themanner shown, such bar 16 serving as a handle whereby the Atwfo pistonsmay be simultaneously operated lin the same direc-- tion. The cylinder 3is provided with a. stuffing box 1T at its rear end, and an outlet 23 isprovided atthe rear end of the cylinder 1 (Figure 2) in order to permitthe free escape of air f-rom the cylinder as the piston 2 moves to theleft. A ball -spring held check-valve 18 is provided at thefront end ofthe cylinder` 1, whereby air enters freely upon the rearward movement ofthe piston 2, butis prevented from escaping on the forward movementthereof. lA ball check-valve 19 is also provided in the passage 6, suchvalve being spring-held closed,

and permitting a flow from the cylinder 3 to the/nozzle 7, butpreventing any reverse flow. The ball check-valve 2.0 prevents any backflow through the supply pipe 5. The passage-way 8 (Figure 1.) is

slightly greater thanl thatV of the pipe 7 so.

that a flow of air may occur intermediate the periphery ofthe pipe 7 andthe wall of the passage-way 8. y l

.Assuming that the parts lare in the posi? tion occupied in Figures 1and 2, and that the cylinder 3 contains a charge of liquid fuel suppliedfrom the pipe 5, the operationv -in introducing a charge of explosivethrough the pipes A9, 10, 11 and 1.2,to theengine cylinders is asvfol1ows. The handle. 14- -is 4in its stroke to first operated to openall of the valves 13, l and the handle 16, and the pistons 2'and 4lvoperated thereby are then thrust vigorously forward from the positionindicated in F igure 2. The liuid in the cylinder 3 is forced l throughthe passage 6 and the nozzle 7 into l the passage-way 8, `the finestream striking l the wall at the rear end of the passage-way l andbeing atomized to a large extent.` At the same time the air compressedupon the front side of the piston 2 is driven `rearwardly through thepassage-way 8 intermediate the walls thereof andthe outer surface of thenozzle 7 at a high velocity, the

force of this air assisting still further` in vaporizing the liquid fuelfromthe nozzle and a thorough mixture is secured in the rear end of thepassage-way. A certain amount of compression is attained in cylinder 1and passage-way 8 before the portion 22 of such passage-way comesopposite the end of the pipe 9, so that avsupply of fuel in the .part 22is insured and a sharp and effective flow of the explosive mixtureoccurs when registry between the portion and the end of the pipe 9occurs. The pipes 10, 11 andv 12 are similarly supplied, as thepiston2moves toits extreme forward position, so that a proper amount ofexplosive mixture is furnished to each engine cylinder. Before ignitionin the engine cylinders, the valves 13 are closed by means of the handle14 in order to protect the cylinder 1 and its parts from the pressureinduced by the explosions of the cylinders. l

It will be seen from 'the foregoing that the vapparatus is lextremelysimple, and may be constructed at a small cost, also that certainty ofal good mixture is insured, and a vigorous flow of the explosive.mixture through the delivery pipesds provided for, as the portion 22 ofthe passage-way 8 registers therewith. The apparatus is obviouslycapable of use in any desired position, and

may be applied to'engines having any numbei' of cylinders. Various otheradvantages l incident to the construction will-be apparent to thoseskilled in the art.

Having thus described my invention and illustrated its, use, what 'Iclaim asnew and desire to secure by Letters Patent is the following y 1.In an engine star ter,.a`l cylinder, a delivery passage leading 'fromthe side of the cylinder, a piston in the cylinder provided with apassageway and adapted at one point f register 'with the delivery?passage, and means operated by the forward movement of the piston forforcing an explosive mixture through. the passageway and thence into thedelivery passage.

2. In an engine starter, a cylinder, a plurality of delivery passagesleading, from the side of the cylinder, a piston in the cylinderprovided with a passageway adapted duri means for forcing -inder, alongitudinal ing the forward movement of the piston to registersuccessively with the delivery passages, and means operated movement ofthe piston for forcing an explosive mixture through the passageway andthence into the delivery passages.

3. In an engine starter, a cylinder, a delivery passage leading from theside of the cylinder, a piston in the cylinder provided with alongitudinal passageway having a part adapted at one point of the strokeof the piston to register with the delivery passage, a nozzle inalinement with the passageway, means whereby air is admitted'to thefront end of the cylinder, and means for forcing a stream of fuelthroughthe nozzle as the piston is moved forward.

4. In an engine starter, a cylinder, a delivery passage leading from theside of the cylinder, a piston in the cylinder provided withalongitudinal passageway having a part adapted at one point of thestrokeof thel piston to register with the delivery pas-` sage, a tubeprojecting into the passageway with a space `intermediate, the pipeandpassageway for the pressed in the front end of the cylinder, and astream of fuel through the tube as the piston is moved forward.

5. In an engine starter, a cylinder, a delivery passage leading from theside of the cylinder, a piston in the cylinder provided with alongitudinal passageway having a part adapted at one point of the strokeof the piston to register with the delivery passage, a tube projectinginto the passageway with a space intermediate the pipe and passagewayfor the passage of the air compressed in the front. end of the cylinder,and a pump for forcing a stream of fuel through the tube as the pistonis moved forward, said pump being connected to operate` in unison withthe said piston.

6. In an engine starter, an air cylinder, a fuel cylinder, a pair ofpistons forthe cylinders, connected to move together, a delivery passageleading from the side of the by the forward mitting air to the front endof the air cylfrom the front end of side thereof and adapted to registerwith the delivery passage. a the passageway with a space intermediatethe pipe and the passageway for the passage of the air compressed in thefront end of the cylinder, and acommunication between the fuel cylinderand the tube.

passageway leading the air piston to thev tube projecting into v Intestimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name iu the presence of thetwo Subscribing witnesses.

If. H. ARMSTRONG. `Witnesses IVM. STANAWAY,

IVM. H. DANE.

